Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio's uneasy relationship with 'Jersey Boys' - LA Times Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio's uneasy relationship with 'Jersey Boys' 'Jersey Boys' Keith Bernstein / Warner Bros. Director Clint Eastwood, left, and Frankie Valli on the set of "Jersey Boys." Director Clint Eastwood, left, and Frankie Valli on the set of "Jersey Boys." (Keith Bernstein / Warner Bros.) Steven Zeitchik Contact Reporter Franki Valli and Bob Gaudio have complicated relationships to Jersey Boys As it hopes to draw moviegoers in its second weekend who didn’t turn out for its first, “Jersey Boys” offers a summer counterprogramming cocktail of sorts. Clint Eastwood ’s stage-derived film about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tells the story of a throwback group, comes from a throwback director and offers the throwback appeal of actors better known for their chops than their ability to attract tabloid or financier attention. There’s something else throwback about the film too, or at least timeless: subjects who haven’t always been thrilled with the process.

Valli and his creative partner, writer-keyboardist Bob Gaudio, were very involved in the development of both the show and the movie. And they weren’t quiet or enthused. “It was an interesting journey,” Marshall Brickman, who wrote both the show’s book and movie’s screenplay said diplomatically when asked about the pair’s input. Valli was quick to raise an eyebrow to narrative compressions or flourishes in the script he felt didn't reflect the rags-to-riches-to-rags tale as it happened. His main issue, both Eastwood and star John Lloyd Young suggested, were changes he thought didn't do justice to his relationships and the band's back story. 'Jersey Boys' trailer See more videos That issue may have been compounded given the competing recollections among members of the All-American group in the first place. When Young was first researching the role, he met frequently with Valli but soon found the Rashomon-style recollections of various band members made each an unreliable witness, including Valli. “I would learn more by what Frankie left out or what he didn’t want to talk about,” the actor said.

(Both the show and movie deal with these clashing takes by allowing different players to narrate their version of the story.) See the actors, directors and more at this year's festival. Eastwood said he thinks Valli, who was also regularly on set, is still ambivalent about the show though acknowledged with a wry smile that "I think he’s gone to see it almost 50 times.” Ever the writer, Gaudio was fine with pretty much all artistic license, Eastwood said, though he would home in on any perceived musical inaccuracies. This was true, principals said, at the show level too. “He'd sit in these ‎tech rehearsals and his ear would go up‎ like a dog’s if a note didn't sound the way he thought it should,” said the actor Erich Bergen, who played Gaudio on stage and screen and would often be the one on the receiving end of the canine correction. Brickman said that Gaudio’s concerns reflected a more exacting interpretation of the process than most veteran stage or screen writers have. “You don’t have the control over a movie that you do in a studio making a record," he said.

“Bob can hear sounds like nobody else and equalizations that no one else can hear," he said, adding, "These are things you can't reproduce in a movie theater.” (Neither Valli nor Gaudio were made available for interviews.) Though the movie doesn’t always glamorize their backstage life, it takes a benign, even noble view of the two principals. Valli stands by bandmate Tommy DeVito even as the latter nearly brings down the group with his gambling debts. Gaudio comes off as a likable and talented guy who, though he forges a partnership with Valli separate from other bandmates, ultimately isn’t really trying to undermine anyone. Musicians working through their feelings about their Broadway or Hollywood treatment is in the air this season. Carole King was conflicted about the take on her life in the current Tony-decorated hit “Beautiful.” She came around and eventually went to see the production and even performed at the Tonys with star Jessie Mueller. Still, don’t hold your breath for Valli to perform at any upcoming movie-award shows.

Frankie Valli takes on Jersey Boys on Broadway - BBC News BBC News Frankie Valli takes on Jersey Boys on Broadway 16 August 2012 Close share panel Image caption Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons had 39 hit singles in the 1960s Four Seasons singer Frankie Valli will provide competition for Jersey Boys, the stage show based on his group, when he plays a run of concerts on Broadway. The pop veteran is to play seven shows at the Broadway Theatre in October, around the corner from the August Wilson Theatre, home of Jersey Boys. The musical tells the story of Valli's group, using their hits Can't Take My Eyes Off You and Oh, What a Night. Valli and the Four Seasons had a total of 14 US top 10 hits in the 1960s. They were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. "I've performed around the world in every size theatre imaginable, but it has always been my dream to play Broadway," said the 78-year-old singer in a statement. He will perform in New York from 19 - 27 October.

Jersey Boys opened in 2005 and won the Tony Award for best musical the following year. It has been seen by 13 million people around the world, raking in $1bn (£640m) in box office takings. It was recently announced that Iron Man director Jon Favreau would helm a cinematic version of the show. Did Critics Welcome Frankie Valli and Jersey Boys to Broadway? | Broadway Buzz | Broadway.com Did Critics Welcome Frankie Valli and Jersey Boys to Broadway? News By Broadway.com Staff November 7, 2005 - 1:44AM Buy Tickets Jersey Boys , a bio-musical that tells the story and uses the song catalog of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, has hit Broadway after a successful tryout at the La Jolla Playhouse. The tuner opened at the newly renamed August Wilson Theatre on November 6. Could critics take their eyes off it? Here is a sampling of what they had to say: William Stevenson in his Broadway.com Review : "Watch your back, Mamma Mia! A new jukebox musical has arrived on Broadway, and it's as much of a crowd-pleaser as you are.

It's also a lot smarter, and it actually tells the story of the group whose music it celebrates—the Four Seasons. Slickly directed by Des McAnuff, Jersey Boys stars a bunch of talented unknowns who are making the most of their big break. They, and the show, are a knockout." Ben Brantley of The New York Times: "In a year in which one pop-songbook show after another has thudded and died, Jersey Boys passes as silver instead of as the chrome-plated jukebox that it is. Unlike the recent Broadway flops Good Vibrations the Beach Boys show, All Shook Up the Elvis show and Lennon you figure it out, Jersey Boys has the advantage of featuring singers that actually sound like the singers they are portraying and a technology-enhanced band that approximates the original sound of their music. Mr. Brickman... and Mr. Elice provide some likably sassy dialogue as they chart the evolution of their main characters from street kids in the urban wastelands of New Jersey to pop gods enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mr.

McAnuff, who won a Tony for repackaging rock for Broadway in The Who's Tommy in 1993, lends clarity and crispness to a shifting narrative that lets the different Seasons tell their own sides of their story... But while Jersey Boys is based on fact, it rarely leaps over the clichés of a regulation grit-to-glamour blueprint... But once the Four Seasons classics are rolled out, every other pair of shoulders in the house starts a-twitchin'." The New York Post: "It's terrific—with a young John Lloyd Young singing the bleating, stratospheric doo-wop of the hard-driving Frankie Valli in a way that rivals Frankie Valli. But that's not even the best part. It's a Broadway commonplace that the most important thing about a musical is the book--but no one goes out singing the book, so it's a commonplace often forgotten. Then comes a show like Jersey Boys, with a book, by Broadway newcomers Marshall Brickman Woody Allen's one-time co-writer and Rick Elice, that's as tight and absorbing as an Arthur Miller play, whipped up by director Des McAnuff into a controlled rock frenzy. That's when you realize just what a book can do.

A glitzy, sleight-of-hand staging never hurt, either... The story, and more especially the treatment, lends itself to the telling and the staging, which seamlessly combines the flashy elements of rock concerts with the straightforward narrative." Howard Kissel of The New York Daily News: "I had a great time at Jersey Boys... Although a few scenes are dramatized, much of the time the characters speak directly to the audience. Sometimes such a technique can be deadly, but the book, by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, handles everything with such lightness and finesse that you get caught up in their story. This is in no small part due to the skill of the cast under Des McAnuff's canny direction. The most impressive of the group is Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito, who started it all." David Rooney of Variety: "OK, so the book is clunky, the backstory is emotionally skeletal and the structure sticks to a generic VH1 Behind the Music model, but glance around the newly rechristened August Wilson Theater during the songs in Jersey Boys at the middle-age women dancing in their seats while their husbands' heads bop to the music and it's clear something is connecting.

Then go dive in among the leopard-print outfits and thick Sopranos accents in the lobby at intermission and it becomes even clearer. If this musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons can reach its core audience of baby boomers and partisan home-staters, it could become a sizable hit... Jersey Boys is unlikely to erase the critical and industry skepticism toward the compilation genre or to send backers scurrying to invest in the inevitable Lucky Star: The Madonna Story. But this agreeably modest show has a number of appealing factors on its side. The underdog story of four blue-collar Italian boys from Jersey who become a chart-topping hit factory advocates all the right embraceable values for mainstream acceptance... It celebrates the rise to stardom while providing down-to-earth, bittersweet acknowledgement of its casualties. But most of all, it showcases an energizing concert of toe-tapping pop classics." Michael Kuchwara of The Associated Press: "When it sings and moves, this musical biography of pop icons Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, which opened Sunday at Broadway's August Wilson Theatre, really rocks. The energy is unstoppable, particularly from the four lead performers—Christian Hoff, Daniel Reichard, J.

Robert Spencer and the amazing John Lloyd Young as Valli. Young does more than impersonate Valli. He lives, breathes and sings the man. It's one of those eerie, exact performances, complete with high, almost piercing voice, that crystallizes why Valli was such a unique entertainer. Only when it attempts to tell the story of the lads' rise to fame and fortune does Jersey Boys occasionally falter, sinking into a soapy resume of their lives." Elysa Gardner of USA Today: "Boys offers a familiar blend of self-conscious populism and knee-jerk sentimentality. Luckily, co-librettists Rick Elice and veteran film and TV writer Marshall Brickman—whose previous collaborators include Woody Allen, Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett—manage to mitigate the muck with flashes of easygoing wit. Director Des McAnuff, who cut his rock 'n' roll teeth overseeing the Broadway debut of The Who's Tommy, also helps keep the proceedings brisk and breezy. Scenic designer Klara Zieglerova fashions a whimsical tone, with campy period cartoons projected on screens. But Boys ' real secret weapon is its stars.

John Lloyd Young's sweetly guileless Valli does indeed sing like an angel, as another character notes. And he and the actors cast as his bandmates perform the Four Seasons' hits with more prowess and charisma than I've yet seen in a faux-rock musical." Linda Winer of Newsday: "Authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, director Des McAnuff and choreographer Sergio Trujillo obviously also understand why they love these dopey romantic lyrics with the simple song structures, the gorgeous harmonic blends and the immaculate yet easygoing doo-wop beat... We always have Frankie, embodied by John Lloyd Young with unpretentious street-corner swagger and just the right nice-guy ambitions. Young also happens to have a voice that can be buzzy and rough in the middle registers and fly with the beat of pubescent hearts in falsetto. Sure, this is clone theater, note-by-note coverage of songs that combine soapy, commercial sounds with the deep-leaning pulse of a pre-counter-cultural parallel universe in which pop groups wore suits and skinny ties and nobody discussed Vietnam. McAnuff keeps the show from feeling animatronic. Things are pleasantly underproduced...

There are a few lines—about flyovers and day jobs—that sound too contemporary. Otherwise, Brickman... makes us believe the guys are speaking for themselves. And Trujillo's choreography finds the joy in unisons of pumping elbows and snapping fingers-best of all, without a wink of parody." JERSEY BOYS -- the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - YouTube JERSEY BOYS -- the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Apr 12, 2012 Jersey Boys tells the story of how four blue-collar boys became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide -- all before they were thirty!

See more entertainment videos on NZ Herald: More from NZ Herald: Frankie Valli sits down to talk about ‘Jersey Boys,’ The Four Seasons Music Frankie Valli sits down to talk about ‘Jersey Boys,’ The Four Seasons Frankie Valli in his Calabasas home, Tuesday, September 30, 2014. "Jersey Boys" the award-winning musical about Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons has performances at the Pantages Theatre through October 19. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/Los Angeles Daily News) By Sandra Barrera , Los Angeles Daily News Posted: Frankie Valli in his Calabasas home, Tuesday, September 30, 2014. "Jersey Boys" the award-winning musical about Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons has performances at the Pantages Theatre through October 19. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/Los Angeles Daily News) Jersey Boys When: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 19. Where: Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. Tickets: $25-$175.

Information: 800-745-3000, hollywoodpantages.com A decade before “Jersey Boys” opened on Broadway in 2005, Frankie Valli was approached by some networks interested in turning the story of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons into a made-for-TV movie. He had a better idea, which he took to the group’s co-founder and songwriter Bob Gaudio: “Maybe this is a play.” Valli is remembering where it all began on a recent morning at his home in Calabasas. After moving a pair of patio chairs to a shady spot in his spacious backyard, not far from the tennis court and pool, the still-energetic 80-year-old sat down to talk about the whirlwind, Tony Award-winning musical that’s been taking the world by storm — even inspiring a film version directed by Clint Eastwood — and breathing new life into his band. “Jersey Boys” has returned to Los Angeles, playing at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through Oct. 19. As it begins its 10th season on Broadway, the show has been seen by more than 20 million people around the world.

It’s currently onstage in New York, Las Vegas (for a fifth year) and London, as well as cities across North America and the U.K. through national tours. Those tours have played more than 4,500 performances across North America and broken more than 50 box-office records in the U.S. since launching in 2006. And to think, for years theater and film producers turned up their noses at such a project. “They looked at us like we were crazy,” Valli says, recalling the conversation going along the lines of “Why would anybody want to do a story about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons? There’s the Beatles, there’s the Stones.” But as he puts it, “Bob and I always felt there was more to the story than just guys that made music.” Granted, everybody knows the Four Seasons was one of the biggest pop acts of the 1960s.

With Valli’s distinctive falsetto front and center, the group of blue-collar boys turned out a parade of hit singles, including “ Sherry ,” “ Walk Like a Man ” and “ Can’t Take My Eyes Off You .” In later years, the singer would drop the high pitch — a voice, by the way, not entirely of his own invention. “I did a lot of impressions and that’s basically how I learned to sing,” Valli says, ticking off a list of pop and jazz singers that includes such blasts from the past as Johnnie Ray, Dinah Washington and Nellie Lutcher. “We did a record that was a Bob Dylan song and we had changed the name of the group for that particular record to the Wonder Who? And that voice is the voice of a very famous female singer named Rose Murphy. Advertisement “I was just clowning around in the studio,” he says. “I remember Bob Crewe saying, ‘Wait a minute! Do that voice through the whole song.’ ” Crewe died on Sept. 11. His writing and producing with Gaudio took the Four Seasons to the top of the charts back in the day.

“He was certainly a very intricate, important part of the success of the Four Seasons,” says Valli, who was born Francis Castelluccio and was raised in the projects of Newark, N.J. He got his start singing on street corners near clubs where bands were playing. In 1953, he had a regional hit with his cover of George Jessel’s “My Mother’s Eyes ” as Frankie Valley. Along the way, he hooked up with the Variety Trio, which signed to RCA Victor as the Four Lovers, hitting with “ You’re the Apple of My Eye ” in 1956. There would be a few more stage names before settling on the Four Seasons, a name borrowed from a New Jersey bowling alley. Audiences embraced the group’s clean-cut image during their heyday, but Valli says it was far from truth. Members Tommy DeVito and the late Nick Massi did jail time for small-time robberies. “If the public had ever gotten wind of the fact we had guys in our group that did some serious time in prison, record companies wouldn’t want us, and radio would’ve certainly not played us,” says Valli, adding that isn’t the case in the era of TMZ.

In “Jersey Boys,” the sordid histories finally see the light of day as each member takes his turn narrating the Four Seasons’ rise, fall and coming apart. The rags-to-riches drama has people of all ages filling the seats. “It’s great because it proves what my original thoughts were,” Valli says. “There were things that had gone on in our lives that I knew the public would be very interested in. Society has always had this interest in the underdogs.” While it was everything he envisioned, he admits it is flawed. To tell a story about four people over the course of 50-plus years would take more than two hours. Valli’s long career alone includes work as a solo artist and actor. That’s him on the title track of “Grease.” He was whacked on HBO’s “The Sopranos” and just shot an episode of CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0.” Of course, he’s still out touring the Four Seasons’ music. “ ‘Jersey Boys’ has been a great big help,” he says. “Our music has been reintroduced to younger generations.

Sometimes I’m amazed when I look out in the audience and I see the various ages of people, from little kids to 60, 70, 80 years old.” He’s also planning to pen an autobiography, if only to tell the stories not told in “Jersey Boys” for the sake of its story arc. “This is one of those situations where there can almost be a continuation,” he says. “How do you do 55 years in two hours? I don’t know how to do that.” Film review: Jersey Boys | The Standard Film review: Jersey Boys MATT NEAL 4 Jul 2014, 2:23 p.m. Jersey Boys (M) *** Director: Clint Eastwood. Cast: John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Christopher Walken, Mike Doyle. Jersey Boys Director: Clint Eastwood. Cast: John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda, Christopher Walken, Mike Doyle. Most of the Jersey Boys cast are veterans of the stage play, but there are some flat performances. A MUSICAL is often only as good as its songs.

By this rationale, Jersey Boys should be outstanding - Sherry, Walk Like A Man, Big Girls Don't Cry, Can't Take My Eyes Off You, and December, 1963 (Oh What A Night) are all classic tracks. Unfortunately the rest of the film can't quite live up to the quality of these hits. Jersey Boys is, at best, a great story poorly told, and at worst, a mildly disappointing disservice to the legacy of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. For those unfamiliar with the stage musical that inspired it or the back story beyond the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame inductees, Jersey Boys tells the story of how Francesco Castelluccio aka Frankie Valli (Lloyd Young), Tommy DeVito (Piazza), and Nick Massi (Lomenda) hooked up with songwriter Bob Guadio (Bergen) and became The Four Seasons.

It's a typical rock 'n' roll story - the troubled upbringings, the initial rejections, the fortuitous break with the "wild new sound", the dizzying highs of hit records and parties and girls, the stresses of life on the road, the broken relationships, the in-fighting, the ultimate come-down, the break-up and the inevitable reunion. It reads like a list of music biopic clichés or the plot of a film parodying the genre (such as Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind, or Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), but it's a cliché for a reason because it's a common trajectory for bands. In this case, a lot of these aspects have been re-arranged to better suit the familiar arc, but really that's neither here nor there - "based on a true story" is always only ever loosely "based", so don't take this movie as Four Seasons gospel. What matters is that in laying out this familiar arc, director Eastwood and writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice have laid things out in a weird and frustrating manner.

After rolling along pleasantly and slightly undramatically for much of the film (during which apparently eight years elapses), the beginning of the downward spiral is sprung on the audience, only for the film to then rewind two years and give us all the drama that's been missing. With much of the dramatic tension and heightened inter-relationships in the band squeezed into an enthralling half an hour, the rest of the film - before and after - feels flat. Plot threads arise seemingly out of nowhere and then disappear and the story's arrangement seems almost random. The movie really comes to life during the songs, which are worked in unobtrusively via live gigs, TV performances, rehearsals or recording sessions. Jersey Boys is magical when the band plays - Eastwood stages the songs nicely, the actors impress with their vocal skills (yep, they're really singing), and you want to applaud each track when it finishes. The songs are the saving grace of the film and helps you ignore the dull patches, the occasional flat performances, the strange layout of the plot, the disturbingly bad make-up used to make the band members look older towards the end, and the annoying technique of characters narrating straight to camera.

This last matter is of particular frustration because it's utterly redundant (the characters don't tell us anything we don't already know or immediately find out) and it breaks the flow of the film. Musically, the cast does well (most are veterans of the stage play), but there are some flat performances. Lloyd Young struggles in the really dramatic scenes, particularly one where Valli confronts his wayward daughter (another out-of-nowhere plot thread), Lomenda is only just passable, while Walken is okay but seems to have wandered in from a different movie. It's not all bad. The early scenes, which have a hint of Goodfellas about them, are good, as are the occasional comedic touches, and that brief half an hour where the drama kicks in is excellent. Piazza and Bergen are particularly good, as is Joey Russo as Joe Pesci (yes, that Joe Pesci). But ultimately this is a two-star movie that gets an extra star for its excellent songs.

In 'Jersey Boys,' the Four Seasons get busted in Cleveland; here's the real story | cleveland.com In 'Jersey Boys,' the Four Seasons get busted in Cleveland; here's the real story comments Isaac Brekken Joseph Leo Bwarie channels Frankie Valli as he sings the Four Seasons' breakout hit single "Sherry" in "Jersey Boys," the Broadway musical that tells the story of four working-class guys who make it big. Bwarie recently left the Las Vegas production of "Jersey Boys" to join the national tour coming to Cleveland this week. PREVIEW "Jersey Boys" What: Playhouse Square presents the musical about the Four Seasons, with songs by the Four Seasons and a script by Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman, directed by Des McAnuff. When: Begins performances Wednesday, June 18. Runs through Sunday, July 20. Performances at 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. Special weekday matinee at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 19. Where: State Theatre, Playhouse Square, Cleveland.

Tickets: $24.50-$130. Call 216-241-6000 or go to . John Soeder: Four Seasons scaled the heights of sweet harmony Oh, what a night -- the night Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons got busted in Cleveland. But did it really happen the way the hit Broadway show "Jersey Boys," which purports to tell the story of the Four Seasons, says it did? Fuhgettaboudit. The night in question is Sept. 6, 1965. And "Jersey Boys" -- which opens a five-week stand in Cleveland on Wednesday, June 18 -- tells it this way: The band comes offstage after a big Friday-night gig. A cop says: "Welcome to Cleveland. You're under arrest." They had failed to pay their hotel bill here the year before. The only judge in town is "gone fishin'," so they spend the weekend behind bars. Pivotal scene, in the show and for the band. And the New York audience chuckles at podunk Cleveland, wherever that is. But it didn't happen that way. And it didn't happen here. So what happened, really and where?

That's an interesting story. It gets fascinating if you also try to find out the story behind why the "Jersey Boys" writers changed certain facts. And it gets downright addictive when you toss in yet another "Jersey Boys" scene that is also set in Cleveland. But more about that later. Rahway 'Rashomon'? Pop music fans don't want just the songs. They want narratives, too, the stories behind the music, whether true or fudged. The Lads from Liverpool. The enigmatic Bobby Zimmerman. The Dreamgirls. The Hardest Working Man in Show Business. The Man in Black. The Boss. The Queen of Soul. The King. But what's the narrative of the Four Seasons, the pop group with the angelic-sounding falsetto singer and the songs about girls? There aren't any serious biographies about the Four Seasons, no movies about them, no publicity machine. In the age of the British Invasion, four working-class guys from New Jersey weren't exotic. Besides, the guys -- some with prison records and Mob ties-- shunned celebrity.

But, starting in 2005, there is "Jersey Boys," which says the narrative of the Four Seasons is defined more than anything else by one thing: "You ask four guys, you get four different answers." That's a line in the show by the character representing guitarist Tommy DeVito, and its sentiment is reflected throughout the production. Which means the true story of the origins and career of the Four Seasons may never be known. Here are some facts that appear to be actually factual: Francis Stephen Castelluccio released his first single, under the name Frankie Valley, in 1953. A year later, he joined the Variety Trio. It evolved into the Variatones, which included brothers Tommy and Nick DeVito, and later became the Four Lovers. Producer Bob Crewe came on board in 1958, followed the next year by keyboardist/composer Bob Gaudio, who had a No. 3 hit with "Short Shorts" as a member of the Royal Teens. Bassist Nick Massi (born Nick Macioci) signed up in 1960, and the group became the Four Seasons.

The starting lineup -- Valli, Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Massi -- stayed together until Massi left in 1965, with DeVito following in 1970. Gaudio stopped touring with the group in 1971, but thanks to the "Jersey contract" -- a historic handshake deal in 1962 between Gaudio and Valli that is still in force today -- he and Valli have continued to record and produce, individually and with others. The last of the Four Seasons' five career No. 1 hits came in 1976: "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)." But under the Jersey contract, Gaudio and Valli continue to split everything they make, together and apart, 50-50. As of today, that would amount to about $25 million each. End of relative certainty.

Beginning of "virgin territory." That's what "Jersey Boys" co-writer Marshall Brickman (Woody Allen's longtime screenwriting partner) calls the Four Seasons' narrative, virgin territory as landscaped by Brickman and partner Rick Elice (a consultant with the Walt Disney Co.) There was precious little solid information to go on. Massi died in 2000. DeVito has an unpublished autobiography, and he made himself available for interviews. A 1987 Time magazine article recounts the Jersey contract tale. But Elice and Brickman say they got most of their information by meeting with Gaudio and Valli at a restaurant in New York. Which restaurant? That depends on whether you ask Elice or Brickman. "It was Joe Allen," the famous Restaurant Row haunt, Elice said in a recent telephone interview from New York. "But Marshall will tell you Sardi's," a more famous eatery on West 44th Street. "There's only one truth, and this is it: It was Sardi's," Brickman said in a separate telephone interview, also from New York. Anyway. Back to Elice and "Jersey Boys": "But we weren't making a documentary.

We were making a play, a musical." They wound up with a narrative told by four actors playing the Seasons and punctuated by hit songs, occasionally out of chronological order. A nine-member ensemble plays dozens of smaller parts. "The dialogue is invented and we conflated things, but all the events really happened, and in sequence," Brickman said. "When Rick and I heard these stories from Frank and Bob -- at Sardi's -- I said, 'If we don't screw that up, it's at least a triple.'¤" It turned out to be a home run; "Jersey Boys" is still selling at capacity on Broadway after three years. But as for whether all the events really happened or not? No guarantees. "We were all in the same car the whole time," Gaudio said via telephone from Nashville, Tenn. "But sometimes we got the stories off by a few hundred miles or six months. So you can never really tell." Waiting for Columbus? Which brings us back to that pivotal Act 2 curtain-raiser, the Cleveland jail scene. It's important because it gets the audience back into the story after intermission.

And it explains why Massi left the band in disgust, and why Gaudio and Valli froze DeVito out until he, too, decamped. Columbus Department of Public SafetyPolice in Columbus say this is an authentic 1965 jailhouse mug shot of Frankie Valli. But for some reason, the cops didn't photograph the other two of the Four Seasons arrested along with Valli. It's but one of the mysteries that obscure the actual events of a fateful night. And yes, that's right, Valli turned 74 last month. DeVito, a slick card-sharp and hustler, got the band into debt with a loan shark to the tune of "one-hundred-and-fifty large." That's New Jersey-ese for $150,000. To introduce the idea of DeVito's alleged financial imprudence, Elice and Marshall went looking for a telling moment. The hotel-bill arrest scene, Elice said, was "the most toothsome anecdote." In the musical, all four of the Seasons get arrested in Cleveland at the Ohio State Fair. They're charged with not paying a $120 hotel bill at a Holiday Inn the year before.

The judge is gone, and they're stuck in jail and spend the weekend discussing DeVito's flaws, Massi's dissatisfaction and Gaudio's anger. What's wrong with this picture? Cleveland audiences will get it instantly: The Ohio State Fair is in Columbus, a city that, even when it was a cow town back in the 1960s, had more than one judge. So -- again -- what really happened, and where? Some of the story can be told with a fair degree of reliability, thanks to: -- Arrest records dug out of the files of the police department in Springfield, about 45 minutes west of Columbus. -- Archives at the Ohio State Fair and a story in The Columbus Dispatch about the 1965 fair's final-day lineup. -- And a three-paragraph Associated Press report about the arrest and the concert that ran in The Plain Dealer. Here's what apparently happened: On Sept. 6, 1965, a Labor Day Monday -- not a Friday -- the Four Seasons played a variety show hosted at the fair by TV personality Mike Douglas.

Columbus cops arrested three of the Four Seasons -- Valli, Gaudio and DeVito -- at the fair, and transported them to Springfield, where they were charged with "defrauding [an] innkeeper." They were accused of skipping town without paying a $375 bill at the Springfield Holiday Inn in July 1964. They were processed by Springfield police, released at 9 p.m. on $500 bond each, and ordered to reappear on Sept. 17, 1965, at which time the charges were dismissed. Based on those facts, some fairly safe assumptions can be adduced: -- Massi wasn't arrested because he had probably already gotten fed up with DeVito and left the band before Columbus. -- The hotel bill of $375 equals $125 for each band member, which is close to the $120 Gaudio remembers, and the figure used in the show. -- The three band members probably didn't spend much if any time in either the Columbus or Springfield jails. -- And, finally, the charges were dropped because DeVito most likely made good on the arrears.

Beyond those basics, the details remain confusing, mostly because the cops involved in both cities are retired or dead. Most mysteriously, there's a police mug shot that the Columbus Department of Public Safety claims was taken on the day of the arrest. Neither Gaudio nor DeVito's mug shot can be found by the Columbus cops, and Valli's has no ID numbers or charges listed. Elice says the details, no matter how confusing, don't really matter. "The point is that Bob never forgave Tommy after that," Elice said. "That's the point." Rock city redux? So what was the point of changing the locale of the arrest? To understand the convoluted reply to that query, it helps to know that there is a second scene in "Jersey Boys" that is also set in Cleveland, one of the last and most uplifting in the show. In the interview, Elice said he knew all along the arrest didn't happen in Cleveland, but made the switch to add poignancy to the story, to "bookend" the band's moment of shame with a later moment of glory.

And to do that, he didn't make an error; he simply took poetic license so that both scenes would take place in a city known for its rock 'n' roll heritage, Cleveland. Oh yeah? That's not what Brickman said. Brickman said he didn't know anything about the arrest having taken place in Columbus and Springfield instead of Cleveland. "I have egg on my red face," Brickman said. "It was a mistake." Whatever. Now, about that other "Cleveland" scene. Near the end of the show, the band comes back to Cleveland in 1990 -- 25 years after they were arrested -- to be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hold it. We Clevelanders know from the Rock Hall. First of all, the I.M Pei-designed museum didn't open at North Coast Harbor until 1995. And while the Four Seasons were indeed inducted in 1990 (the museum began its collection of superstars in 1987 while plans were being made for the museum building), the induction ceremony took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.

So that night -- and oh, what a night -- that night didn't happen here, either. The Four Seasons: Meet the real Jersey Boys Movies & TV The Four Seasons: Meet the real Jersey Boys LAS VEGAS - MAY 03: (L-R) Singer Frankie Valli, producer Bob Crewe, singer Tommy Devito and singer Bob Gaudio arrive at the opening night celebration of the musical "Jersey Boys" at The Palazzo May 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images) Posted: LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 16: Singer Frankie Valli performs onstage during Fox's "American Idol 2013" Finale Results Show at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on May 16, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) By Rob Lowman The film “Jersey Boys” tells the story of the rise of the Four Seasons, but a few years after the group achieved its initial success, members began to leave.

Though there were variations of the Four Seasons, who recorded until the early 1990s, the only constants were singer Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio, the keyboardist and songwriter who moved to producer duties. Here’s a snapshot of the band and some of their music. Frankie Valli Birth name: Francis Stephen Castelluccio. Born: May 3, 1934, in Newark, N.J. Career: He cut his first single, “My Mother’s Eyes,” in 1953 and sang with the Varietones, which later became the Four Lovers and then the Four Seasons. In 1978, Valli sang the theme song for the film version of “Grease,” written by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, which became a No. 1 hit. He also appeared in several episodes of HBO’s “The Sopranos,” which used numerous Four Seasons songs. In thefilm: Played by John Lloyd Young, who also originated the role on Broadway.

Young had a tough time picking a favorite Seasons song but settles on three: “Patch of Blue” from 1969; “Beggin’ ” from 1967 but overall, it’s “Sherry,” the group’s first No. 1 hit in 1962. Bob Gaudio Born: Nov. 17, 1942 in the Bronx, N.Y., but was raised in Bergenfield, N.J. Career: He wrote his first hit, “(Who Wears) Short Shorts,” at age 15 as a member of the Royal Teens. It went to No. 3. He joined the Four Lovers in 1959 and was the composer for most of the Four Seasons’ hits. Gaudio stopped touring with the group in 1971. Later on, he produced “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” for Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand and wrote songs or produced albums for Diamond, Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, Roberta Flack and Michael Jackson. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In the film: Played by Erich Bergen, who picks 1964’s “Dawn (Go Away)” — co-written by Gaudio — which didn’t go to No. 1 only because of an onslaught of songs by The Beatles. Tommy DeVito Born: June 19, 1928, in Belleville, N.J. Career: He sang in the Variety Trio with twin brother Nick, and Hank Majewski. Later, he became lead guitarist for the Four Seasons. He left the band in 1970, selling his interest to Valli and Gaudio. Actor Joe Pesci, who has the name Tommy DeVito in his Oscar-winning role in “GoodFellas,” introduced him to Gaudio. The most colorful member of the band — having spent a number of stints in prison — DeVito re-united with the other three for the 1990 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. He lives in Las Vegas today. Advertisement In the film: Played by Vincent Piazza, who names “Rag Doll” his favorite Seasons’ song. “There is something very nostalgic and tender about it,” Piazza said. The 1964 tune that went No.

1 was also co-written by Gaudio, who was inspired by a street girl who cleaned the windshield of his automobile for change. Nick Massi Birth name: Nicholas Macioci. Born: Sept. 19, 1927, in Newark, N.J. He died of cancer on Dec. 24, 2000. Career: He played with several bands during his teen years and was the bass player and primary vocal arranger for the Four Seasons during the group’s glory years. He was the one with the deep voice, as in “Sherry” where he sang, “why don’t you come out to play.” Massi quit the band in 1965, wanting to give up touring and stay home. He later worked as an arranger, vocal coach and engineer with various New Jersey bands. In the film: Played by Michael Lomenda, whose favorites are “Who Loves You,” a Gaudio tune from 1975, with its “killer groove” and the 1966 “Working My Way Back to You.” The real Massi had already left the band when both songs were recorded.

Jersey Boys - Showtimes, Deals & Reviews | Vegas.com Jersey Boys 96% of customers recommeded this show Rating Breakdown Location: Le Theatre des Arts, Paris Las Vegas Phone: **Whoops! It looks like this show’s run away with the circus. For those of you who’ve been drinking today, that means it’s closed. But don’t worry, we’ve still got your back. Check out these equally awesome Las Vegas shows .** Show Type: Musicals, Production Select a date and time Jersey Boys Location:Le Theatre des Arts, Paris Las Vegas Phone number: Age restriction: Must be 12 years of age or older Additional information: The show is not recommended for those under 12 due to the authentic Jersey language. Other restrictions: Must be at least 12 years of age. Jersey Boys description **Whoops! It looks like this show’s run away with the circus. For those of you who’ve been drinking today, that means it’s closed. But don’t worry, we’ve still got your back. Check out these equally awesome Las Vegas shows .** The music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons is ubiquitous.

Whether or not you realize it, you've heard their songs on the radio, in TV commercials, movies or covered by a contemporary artist. Their repertoire of hits like, "Sherry," "Walk Like a Man" and "Big Girls Don't Cry" is ingrained in American pop culture. The story behind those songs and the group is just as endearing. Jersey Boys at Paris Las Vegas takes audiences into the lives of Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio and their rise to stardom as The Four Seasons. The show, written by Marshal Brickman and Rick Elice, begins with four blue-collar kids working their way from the streets of Newark, N.J., to achieving their dreams of being in a famous music group. Their captivating journey to stardom is told through the cast and the band's hit songs like "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Rag Doll," "Oh, What a Night" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." Each of the Four Seasons takes a turn telling their side of the story. It becomes clear that while their voices fit together in perfect harmony, their distinct personalities and lives were a sharp contrast to their symphonic sound.

"We put Jersey on the map," says DeVito, who is the first storyteller for the evening. "Ask four guys how it happened and you get four different versions but they all start here." As he narrates, the other characters play out the live version of his recollection of how the band came together. He floats in and out of his role as both a narrator and an active part of the scenes. After DeVito introduces the audience to his band and his life in Jersey he describes hearing Valli's stunning falsetto and taking him under his wing as the new singer for his band. DeVito is the guiding force for the band and recommends that they need one more guy to complete their sound. His friend, Joe Pesci, initiates a meeting between Bob Gaudio and the rest of the band. Already a one-hit wonder at the age of 17 with his song, "(Who Wears) Short Shorts," Gaudio becomes the final piece of the puzzle. Next they meet up with Bob Crewe, a producer who helps set the boys up with a gig singing back-up for various artists. Gaudio takes over as the storyteller and explains how he contrived the band's first No.

1 song, "Sherry." This is also the first Four Seasons' song in the show, and the anxious audience explodes with applause at their electrifying performance. The classic songs and impassioned actors transport the audience back to a time when they first fell in love with the Four Seasons. The show progresses with seamless transitions between acts that flow together more like a movie than a theatrical production. Props and set pieces move on and off the stage in seconds without interrupting the developing story line. Despite what happened behind the scenes, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons produced more than 70 chart-topping hits including eight No. 1 songs. They have sold more than 175 million records worldwide making them one of the best-selling music groups of all time. Watching their story unfold in a live production show is an experience for anyone in the audience. This compelling story, combined with riveting performances and endearing music, reiterates why The Four Seasons are a truly timeless act. -- By Caroline Fontein View full description Guest Reviews Rated 5 out of 5 by Javasgassa Wow Best show in Vegas nikka wahl so pretty...

Crear performance September 19, 2016 Rated 5 out of 5 by marcardenas Best show ever Its a shame that its over, i think i like more than LOVE by cirque du solei, i went with my family and we loved it September 18, 2016 Rated 5 out of 5 by Bigdsmittee Features I have to say that this was the easiest way to book a show and the show was absolutely incredible. I left in tears because it was that good. September 18, 2016 Rated 4 out of 5 by Regor Fun Show Show started out very slow and we began to wonder if it was a poor choice. About 20 minutes into the show, it became engaging and fun. We recommend the show. September 16, 2016 Rated 5 out of 5 by Jmusic Perfect vocals I am a music producer. I'm very picky with vocals. Ironically I don't like musicals. But this was very very good. The male actors were absolutely stellar. The lead actor was virtually flawless but for one or two flat notes towards the end. But literally only one or two.

I was blown away with his range and ability to hit the notes as clear as he did. The women only had one song and they were meh. Very good story and very inspirational. I'm glad I got to see it before it ended. September 13, 2016 Rated 4 out of 5 by Maltons Great entertainment Had a great night, only booked cheaper seats but they were great. Well worth the money September 13, 2016 Rated 4 out of 5 by KevinNAshlee Good musical with a talented cast The venue was excellent with excellent customer service. We had a great time and would recommend it as a must see. After seeing Jersey Boys on Broadway 5 years ago, we did notice that the vocals were not as good and the ones we saw in New York. Frankie Valli is a very difficult singer portray and we were spoiled to the other one. September 12, 2016 Rated 5 out of 5 by Sambino This was a great show Everyone must see this show I hope it runs for another year September 12, 2016 2016-09-22

Question: What is the stage musical that tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons?
Answer: JERSEY BOYS